The historical fact is that Turks have never consented to live in a land governed by Christians. In 1882 Thessaly was annexed to Greece by a decision of European powers. No armed conflict between Greece and Turkey took place on that occasion and racial hatred had not been increased by the horrors of war. The Greek government at that time offered special inducements to the Turkish inhabitants of the ceded territory to remain on their land and continue their agricultural pursuits. The Turks, however, preferred to emigrate to the Sultan’s domain. When Crete was awarded to Greece over 50,000 of the 80,000 Turkish inhabitants of the island abandoned their homes and decided to settle in Asiatic Turkey. This exodus took place in spite of the perfect security of life and property that had prevailed in the island since its administration was taken over by a committee of Europeans in 1877. This tendency of Turks to forsake Christian countries is observable even in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the Austrian government has shown decided favor toward Mohammedan inhabitants, considering them more loyal than other elements of its southeastern population. The Turk’s last stand in Europe marks the final stage of his colossal struggle to retain mastery over the Dardanelles and Bosporus to which the highways of Europe and Asia lead. The Bosporus is the junction of two important world routes. One of these connects the peoples of central Europe with the crowded settlements of British India. The other is the line of communication between the commercial ports of the Mediterranean and the caravan terminals on the Black Sea coast. Each of these highways has constituted a channel through which the trade between eastern and western lands has been directed from the very beginnings of commerce. The narrowness of this Eurasian waterway permitted continuous travel between two continents, while the straits allowed uninterrupted maritime travel from Black Sea harbors to distant seaports of the western world. Modern railway communications have benefited by the former circumstance. The sea commerce of medieval days thrived on the latter. The entire European coast of the elongated waterways which connect the Ægean and Black seas is inhabited by peoples speaking languages each of which symbolizes conflicting aims and aspirations without being strong enough to silence its rivals. From the political standpoint the linguistic factor appears to be of slight value in this case. Economic needs, to the exclusion of other considerations, will probably determine the destiny of this region.